The top factors that influence blended travel opportunities

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Vacations are getting squeezed out, either because of personal financial pressures or a fear of looking like you aren’t crucial in your cubicle. We keep cutting out the time we need for ourselves and our families, which can make the strain of recession-era employment even worse. You don’t need any more pressure … so why are you creating it? You need to get out on the road, and not just for the company. Whether it’s with family, friends or your favorite mistress, you need some time to recharge. Play it right, and you can get your company to pick up at least a piece of it.

“Blended travel” – tacking personal trips on to business travel – is becoming increasingly common. I’ve done this for most of my professional career, turning road warrior time in Paris (among many other cities) into subsidized non-solo trips. I’ve popped third cities between business destinations, met friends and flown family out to hang with me. And if I could show that it saved the company a few bucks, it would wind up doing the same for me.

With your fun money being pinched, investing some time to research your options can help you turn business travel into a great vacation. Here are five factors to keep in mind:1. The nature of your travel: How you travel and what you’re doing on the road can have a profound effect on your blended travel experience. If you work late and get stuck in meetings all the time, bringing your family isn’t going to work (unless they want to enjoy the destination without you). If you go back to the same place every week, it could constrain how much time you have available (focus on the weekends, for example). Get a sense of the rhythm of your travel schedule, and use that to determine your blended travel options.

2. Company savings: By modifying your travel plans to accommodate your personal aims (including having your family join you), could you wind up saving the company a few dollars? This may not bring the cost of the personal side of your plan down to zero, but it could take the sting out a bit. Finding a way to save the company some money can work to your advantage. I used to look at the timing of flights relative to hotel rates to pull this off. Sometimes, all you need is a relatively tolerant boss.

3. Corporate discounts: Many larger companies have employee discount programs on everything from consumer electronics to mortgages … and travel. This could help you chip away at the cost of your (partial) family vacation. Also, see if there is a way you can use your company’s negotiated rates, too.

4. Where you are (and where you can go): Not every location is worth turning into our annual getaway. I can think of plenty of business trips that I’d never use for a blended travel experience. If your spot is particularly undesirable, think about what’s in striking distance. Maybe you could set something up to meet your family at a third location.

Hint: Again, it’s a cost game. If you can show that the cost of your jaunt is less expensive than a straight shot home, you can make the case for “subsidization.”

Five business travel factors for Obama and the midterm elections

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Leisure travel is irrelevant during the election season, but the woes of business travelers seem to resonate. With the midterm contests two months away, all eyes are on the White House … and President Obama‘s success rate with road, rail and runway repair.

This is the one time business travelers make the presidential agenda, according to Portfolio.com: “Presidents (or people campaigning for any office) only talk about business-travel infrastructure during election season. Our issues almost never seem to rate presidential attention at any other time in the cycle.”

Well, let’s take a look at what Obama’s done for the white collar travel crowd. Here are five business traveler issues that could attract some attention in November:1. Secretary of Transportation appointed: With passengers’ rights considered and a solution implemented (and one that seems to be working), Ray LaHood seems to have been a savvy secretary. And, airlines have been slapped with some hefty fines, proving that they need to take responsibility for their actions.

2. Not so much at the TSA, though: While Portfolio.com gives Obama high marks on behalf of business travelers for LaHood, it’s a little tougher on his choice for top dog of the TSA. The president waited a year to tap someone for the job, suffered through Senate procedural tricks and eventually had to go with his third nominee.

3. Security is solid: The system is relatively safe, Portfolio.com opines, but expect some rancor over the body scans that are set to be implemented, as “the TSA is about to ratchet up the security kabuki at airport checkpoints.”

4. Travel consumer rights on the rise: It took 47 passengers getting stuck overnight on a Minnesota runway, but passengers finally got some rights. The airline industry warned of (self-servingly) of unintended consequences … which have yet to materialize. The Obama administration has airline fee structures on the agenda now.

5. Merger-mania managed: Despite the fact that the “balancing act is tricky,” the administration has done a decent job of facilitating healthy competition without impeding too much of the urge to merge.

[photo by jurvetson via Flickr]

Business travelers told to be logical with tickets

by Tom Johansmeyer on

In a move that’s shocking because it’s sensible, corporate travel managers are pushing business travelers to make decisions that aren’t stupid. In the past two years, 75 percent of companies in North America have changed their travel policies, with cost-cutting a major motivation. First and business class have become more and more elite in the white collar set, thanks to more restrictive policies, in an effort to put more business travelers in the sky at as low a cost as possible.

But, the need for cost containment isn’t resulting in idiocy. Rather, employees are being told to look for the “lowest logical fare.” Basically, this is “the lowest-priced fare that doesn’t cause travelers to take wildly circuitous routes, cause them to miss important engagements, incur an extra night in a hotel or lose productivity,” reports USA Today.

The report continues:

North American companies, which spent an estimated $48.7 billion on airline tickets in 2009, could save almost $30 billion combined annually if they instituted and enforced stricter travel policies that required non-refundable tickets or the lowest logical fare. That’s according to the survey’s publishers, Egencia and the National Business Travel Association Foundation.

Christophe Peymirat, vice president of global marketing at Egencia, Expedia‘s corporate travel arm, observes, “Based on our research, companies … can save as much as 38% by encouraging travelers to be flexible.” Departure times two hours before or after the desired flight and less-expensive connecting flights (rather than non-stop) are ways this could happen.

White Collar Travel: How Important Is That Phone Call?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The biggest complaint that non-business travelers have about the white collar folks likely involves cell phones. Our reluctance to turn the off at the appointed time is probably the greatest annoyance to those around us, though the Gordon Gekko-style pacing and posing at the gate tends to ruffle some feathers, too. I’ve overheard and even been asked countless times the very simple question: “Is it really that important?”

Of course, it’s sometimes phrased, “Nothing can be that [insert expletive of choice here] important.”

Now that I’m out of the game, my perspective on business travel has changed greatly, but there are some quirks and habits that still make sense to me. When I see a guy in a suit shaking his head dramatically, waving his arms and clenching his jaw, I get it. Chances are, it really is that important. Some issues won’t wait, especially if you’re bouncing up against a deadline and are about to be inaccessible for several hours.

In fact, it’s measurable.
Whether it’s commissions or billable hours, every white collar traveler has a number to hit – for the firm and, more importantly, personally. A manager squeezing in those last few minutes before the phones have to go dark can set people on the right course for the next four hours, resulting in possibly tens of thousands of dollars of value to his company.

Now, that’s the positive side of this. There’s also the crisis scenario. The door’s about to close, and you have only seconds left. Your project is blowing up, and your team needs any information or guidance you can give. Anything you can do will make life that much easier for the half a dozen or more people relying on you. I’ve been on both sides of this one and can assure you that it’s uncomfortable for all involved.

When you’re annoying everyone around you – which you really don’t want to do – you’re comparing that to trying to help your team. So, the choice involves securing the approval of strangers or taking care of people who are important to you. It’s easy to see how that one shakes out.

There is one more scenario to keep in mind: the business traveler before you, hollering and gesticulating, is a complete asshole who is unbelievably desperate or as much attention as he can garner. Do anything except ignore him, and you’ll only make it worse … for everyone.

White Collar Travel: Stupid things business travelers have done

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Sometimes you lose your mind when you’re on the road. You either develop a highly inappropriate sense of entitlement (this is my seat on my plane) or decide that nothing matters, giving you a blank check to behave like an asshole. The combination of professional pressures – in my day, it was the collapse of the dotcom bubble … a bump in the road compared to the 2008 financial crisis – personal travails and frustration of being perpetually in transit sometimes make you snap.

Nobody is impervious to the factors that drive business travelers to idiocy, and those who think they are tend to be the worst afflicted. I remember running into my boss at LaGuardia‘s Marine Air Terminal – I was on a Boston-to-New York run for a few months and flew the Delta Shuttle several times a week . We were delayed, not an unusual occurrence at the time. He spotted me in the lone dining facility in the terminal, walked over and sat down, took a call on his cell and proceeded to help himself to my fries without even giving it a second thought.

But, that’s mild.I encountered plenty of business traveler stupidity when I flew with the white collar set … some of it I saw in the mirror. When you find yourself behaving in this manner, it’s usually time to get a new gig. Some of what I saw remains unshakably glue to my memory.

I’ll never forget one run down south.

One of the joys of extended-stay hotels was the so-called “General Manager’s Reception.” At least, I was told it was. Since I was on a project that closely resembled hell, I could never get back to the hotel (which was across the parking lot) in time to down some free beer.

How did I learn of this phenomenon? I ran into my boss’s boss in the hallway, just outside our client’s offices. He was in town for a meeting and was not a part of our weekly grind. In his hand, he held a plastic cup with piss-colored liquid, the cheap beer that even a hotel can see isn’t worth marking up.

Me: “Uh, maybe you’ll want to throw that out before going inside?”

Him, chuckling: “Yeah, probably not a bad idea.”

In another part of the country, I saw first-hand what poor mixological decision-making can do. If you’re unsure of whether to have alcohol, always err on the side of caution. Always. Your client will understand … especially if medicine is involved. I will never forget being on one project where my boss mused aloud about her boss’s insecurities and the reasons for them. Apparently, mixing her cold medicine with red wine had two side effects: (1) saying really stupid stuff about her boss and (2) doing it loudly.

Moral of the story: If you’re on meds, exhausted or inches from not giving a damn about your career, drink club soda. It looks like alcohol and is often mixed with alcohol … but it won’t lead to the same results.

So, I’ve kicked in two, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’ seen idiocy on the road. Any other white collar travelers want to chime in? I’d love to hear what you’ve seen (or done!).

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